Combatant Souls, Eternal Spirits
Chapter 1: Embarking
Disclaimer: This is a fanfiction about Son Goku and Sha Gojyo from Saiyuki. I neither own, nor claim to own, any part of Saiyuki™. There are, however, several characters that are not from Saiyuki—they are my own characters created expressly for this fanfiction. Please, feel free to send commentary, suggestions, anything constructive to help me in the development of this fanfiction. If you like this fanfiction (or don't) let me know (nicely and civilized please). Note, in some instances there will be scenes of graphic violence. Reader discretion is advised.
The sun glared bright and golden in the zenith of the sky. It was another hot, unbearable day in the steamy jungle. Goku sat down under the shade of a tall tree. It didn't help much; the entire forest was damp and muggy. "I can't believe I lost that stupid map!" He groaned belligerently. He had been traveling the forest for three days now, the most of which was spent walking in a circle looking for the displaced map. "I'm hot, an' tired, an' I'm HUNGRY" he whined to himself.
He reached up and wiped sweat from his face and forehead being careful not to displace his diadem. He didn't know why he still wore it. He knew nothing would happen to him this time if he didn't. Gyumaoh had since been defeated, and the Minus Wave that drove youkai insane had been destroyed. Maybe it was meant to be a memento of his experience, or a reminder of the things he, Sanzo, Hakkai, and Gojyo had endured. He removed the aged leather bag on his back and took out a picture of the four of them together along with some Dim Sum he had bought not too long before his departure. He chewed the Dim Sum slowly as he replayed in his head his departure.
Sanzo had just finished a can of beer and was smoking a cigarette as he read the paper, Gojyo wasn't even in the temple at the time, and Hakkai was reading some fictional novel; but no one seemed to notice Goku running back and forth packing his bag full of supplies: medicine, clothes, and—of course—food. He only took the imperishable foods but they still took up a large portion of room in his bag. "I'm leavin' you guys." He had said. Hakkai glanced at him for a moment, then returned to his reading; Sanzo didn't bother making any responses. They all were bored out of their minds. No one had anything to do since their journey to the west ended. Goku felt it was time he went on his own journey.
He didn't know where he would go exactly—he thought he would simply go into the sun's direction when it rose—east. He finished his Dim Sum and convinced himself to not eat anything more. I don't know how long this journey will be, so I have to save my food as much as possible. Besides, it's not like I have Sanzo here to pay for any more food. He thought. He readjusted his Nyoi-Bo, which began to slip from its place on his left arm. Slowly his eyes closed and he let the sluggishness take over. He slept instantly due to fatigue from walking most of the night, when it was cooler, and the heat of the forest. He dreamed of the clouds.
Gojyo slowly woke up in yet another stranger's bed. He looked to his left as his partner shifted. She was another blond—the third this week—and he remembered she had been relatively boring in bed. Gojyo gazed upon her slim figure that lay exposed from the waist up and noticed the smell of sweat in the sheets. She lay sleeping heavily with her back facing Gojyo. He looked up towards the window and stared into the narrow slit of light that shone through an opening in the blinds.
Slowly, trying not to wake the girl beside him, Gojyo removed the sheets and gathered his clothes from around the bed. It was late morning, and Gojyo knew what would happen. He had done it before, actually, almost all the time. He would leave and she would wake up with no one there. Inevitably she would remember Gojyo instantly because of his red hair—it was always his hair people recognized first—and spend the better part of her day looking for him, or at least some remnant of him.
He dressed quickly and left as soon as he could, to avoid the possibility of her waking up. A familiar feeling came over him as he stepped into the crisp air and full glow of the sun. It wasn't a good feeling, simply familiar. He could only describe it as liberation from the monotony of his life. Completely out of character, Gojyo thought to himself: Everything is boring now, even sex. He looked around the already busy village: at the numerous people opening their shops; at the children playing as they scuttled to school; at the numerous people doing menial chores—and wondered what it would be like to be one of them. For all it was worth, he knew that they, at least, weren't bored out of their minds and tired of their lives. Resiliently, he began his promenade back to the temple some five miles away. That is why, he thought, she will never find me. He was speaking of his musings and how his presence would be all but extinguished in the place where everyone was too busy to have noticed "A guy with hair as red as blood".
Goku woke not too long after he had fallen asleep and yawned ferociously. He glanced down at the picture that had remained in his lap. He looked up through the leaves towards the sun just in time to see a figure falling from one of the tall tree limbs. "Gah!" he shouted as he rolled out of the way. The figure landed with almost no sound, and with the grace of a cat.
"Who are you?" the figure demanded blatantly. Goku stared up at the figure. It was a girl with green eyes and short, silver hair. She wore a simple leather tunic with a bow strap holding a container of arrows, jade earrings, and a jade necklace. She wore no shoes and smelled of herbs. Goku noticed the wooden bow in her left hand as she adeptly grabbed an arrow and strung it to her bow aimed directly down towards him.
"W-wait!" Goku stammered as he tried to quickly get up, "I didn't mean to do anything, honest I was—"
"Shut up!" she yelled interrupting him, "Stay right where you are! Tell me your name!"
"My name's Goku." He answered staring back at the girl. Suddenly a loud boom came from the distance. The sound caused the girl to jump and release the arrow by mistake. It blared passed Goku's head nearly clipping his ear. Quickly, he moved in to stop the girl from drawing another arrow.
"Get back! Get back!" she yelled as she tried to pull away from Goku's strong grasp. Her shrieks echoed into the dense forest causing many birds to answer with shrieks of their own.
"What's your name?" Goku asked staring into the girls eyes. He knew he could have taken the bow and arrows, but he didn't want to.
"Let me go and I'll tell you." Goku released her hands confident that she wouldn't be able to attack him with an arrow at such a short range. To his surprise she lunged at him with an iron dagger she pulled from her left side.
"What th' heck! I'm not doin' anything! Why are you tryin' to kill me!" he exclaimed dodging her lunges easily. She lunged once more and this time a whip from off into the forest latched onto her hand causing her to drop the weapon.
Goku quickly ran back to his things as the girl was preoccupied with whoever used that whip. He replaced the picture in his bag and tightened it; then he grabbed his Nyoi-Bo ready to defend himself if necessary. The new assailant shortly appeared dragging the girl to him as he walked towards the area. This guy wore black all over and smelled heavily of blood—both aged and fresh.
Goku waited to see exactly what this foe would do before he would attack. The man withdrew a short sword and ran towards the girl, who had somehow fallen while Goku gathered his belongings. The girl held her hands almost cupping the jade charm on her necklace and formed a dense ball of green Chi energy and fired it directly at the assailant. He dodged and moved in for the lunge. Here, Goku acted quickly, "Nyoi-Bo!" he cried as he extended his Bo into its sansekkon form. With it, he intercepted the lunge and cast the foe into the depths of the forest.
"I didn't need your help!" the girl cried. She got up and quickly gathered her lost equipment and ran off. Goku grabbed his own possessions and ran after her. She continued to run, even after Goku managed to catch up with her.
"Who was that, an' what's goin' on?" he asked her. She seemed to ignore his question and scaled the base of a tree continuing to move within the tree limbs. Goku stopped to turn around and see where the assailant was. The same whip from before lashed out wildly aiming for Goku's throat. He dodged and grabbed the middle of the whip pulling as best he could to bring him closer to his new enemy.
"You are not to interfere!" the assailant yelled trying to reclaim his weapon.
"Tell me what's happenin'! Why th' heck are you all tryin' to kill me!" Goku demanded.
"You are simply in the way; you are a nuisance!" he replied.
Angrily, Goku lunged towards him delivering a decisive kick to his neck. The speed and force were so great that the guy died instantly without actually registering that Goku had attacked him. His body slumped to the floor and a scroll rolled from his back. Goku moved closer to make sure that the guy was dead. Suddenly, the body imploded with a loud boom and a magic circle expanded around Goku. Goku held on tightly to his Nyoi-Bo and felt a twinge of hope that he might have found the adventure he was looking for. The magic circle shone bright with a pale, white light; and Goku could feel himself become transported from his current world.
Gojyo walked in an elated silence towards the temple where the others stayed. It felt weird to be away from the others, he guessed that they had spent too much time together. In an odd kind of way, he felt like they were more of a family than friends. He laughed to himself at the thought of Hakkai wearing an apron and telling him to clean off his plate. "That's just like Hakkai, too." He said to himself.
It was around noon, and the sun's rays shone bright and fiercely onto the open path of earth beneath him. His red hair seemed to shine with the intensity of fire, but his eyes stayed a cold blood-red. He once again thought of the blond he had left in the village and then quickly erased her out of his mind. "I'll find someone better next time." He told himself and his diminishing libido. "I'll find someone much better…"
An ear-splitting shriek echoed from the distance. Gojyo looked up with a start in the direction towards the city. The city itself was fine, still intact; but he could see three figures running out of the outer gates; two guys and a girl. The guys were both dressed in black, but the girl wore white, pure white, and in the hot sun she held an almost ethereal glow. All three ran in his direction and it looked like the girl was the one being attacked. He readied himself and equipped his shakujou almost expectant to get involved.
The girl passed behind him and he quickly caught her hand. "No worries, doll, I'll take care of those men for you." He said giving her his most winning smile.
The assailants soon caught up and he attacked them—the chain of his shakujou encircling them before the keen, crescent blade came in for a death-dealing blow at their necks. Both enemies dodged out of the attack with ease and stopped their chase.
"Now, now," Gojyo arrogantly said, "that's just not fair—two guys against one girl; you might as well call it rape". He attacked again, but this time it was quicker and less flashy. One assailant barely dodged it and was cut across his chest. The other, however, was not as lucky. The chain of the shakujou encircled, then entangled him and the blade sliced through him like a hot knife through butter.
"Who are you to interfere?" the girl said behind him holding two kunai knives to his throat.
"Your rescuer…at least, I was supposed to be." He replied looking directly at her. Gojyo checked the girl out. She stared at him with fierce red eyes—eyes that held a cold, blood-red hue—her hair was a pale, sea foam green and to her shoulders; she looked as if she could be, at most, eighteen.
She gave him a sly smile, "Well then, I think you've found yourself a bad damsel in distress."
"Oh? How so/" Gojyo asked continuing to flirt with her.
Withdrawing her kunai from Gojyo's neck she threw one at the other goon who tried to attack while the two where flirting. The kunai soared through the air and sliced through the enemy's head and landed in the sand behind him. Gojyo laughed as he saw the dead body slump to the floor. "I like that." He said simply.
"Now here comes the best part." The girl said as two magic circles enveloped the both of them. Gojyo watched as the girl disappeared and felt himself become light, then ethereal, then non-existent.
exploded and a magic circle took its place.
Author's Note: Hey, readers! Thank you for reading my first chapter, it really means a lot to me. I hope you are enjoying the story, but keep in mind that this is only the first chapter. I kind of write these as I go along so if so be afraid to review each chapter. Let me know how I'm doing and what you think I should do. Thanks again.